


Luminary

by clantail (ideallyqualia)



Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: Canon Universe, F/F, Pre-Relationship
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-16 14:24:08
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13055799
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ideallyqualia/pseuds/clantail
Summary: Akko manipulates Diana into helping her with her homework. Diana incidentally demonstrates that they both don't know a lot of things.





	Luminary

**Author's Note:**

  * For [cookinguptales](https://archiveofourown.org/users/cookinguptales/gifts).



Diana leaned against the wall. Ever since Akko had saved her home, she had been keeping an eye on her. She had plenty of obligations and problems to deal with but she squeezed out time to be alone, dodging everything but only the most important tasks. Her friends already gave her time alone to recover after she failed to become the family head.

There wasn't a reason to run up to Akko and talk to her again. Diana had her group of friends, and despite Akko's terrible affinity for magic she had her own natural crowd she attracted, her own affinity for something. Amanda and Sucy were currently with Akko, laughing at the fairy flying around Akko's head.

The fairy yanked on Akko's hair, and she yelled. Diana stepped in. "What're you doing?"

"Lotte was talking to a fairy earlier, and one of them stuck around," Sucy said. "We can't get rid of it."

"And Lotte can't either?" Diana asked.

"Lotte didn't notice, and now she's not here," Sucy said simply, her voice containing no concern or urgency for Akko.

Diana approached. "Akko, come here. I'll help you."

Akko didn't pay her any attention. She continued screaming, tearing her hands at her hair. The fairy shrieked too, but she didn't speak in a language anyone present could understand.

"What's she saying?" Amanda asked.

"I don't know."

"Little miss know-it-all doesn't know?"

"I can't speak every language possible." Diana pulled out her wand. "I can only make the fairy calm down."

Sucy and Amanda watched as Diana summoned a point of light at the end of her wand. Diana waved her wand, held it between her hands to ready it, and spoke a few words of magic. The light illuminated more of the room as if the words itself could light up.

The fairy floated backwards. She glanced between everyone, and after an indecipherable look filled her expression, she flew out of the room.

Diana stowed her wand at her belt. "Akko, are you alright?"

Akko's hair didn't resemble any traditional hair-due anymore. Her hair stuck out like she had been electrocuted. "What did you do?"

"I gave the fairy a repellent spell. I don't think she liked it, but it was all I could think of in the moment."

" _You_? You couldn't think of anything else?" Akko brushed over her hair with her hands to tame it into a more manageable look.

"No."

"Why not?"

"I...I just couldn't think of anything else. I don't know as much about fairies as I do about other creatures."

" _Really_?" Akko laughed. "You couldn't think of anything?"

Diana's face flushed as she gripped the bottom hem of her shirt, crumpling it. "There's a reason I still come to Luna Nova, you know."

"I couldn't've guessed," Amanda said.

"So where did the fairy go?" Sucy asked.

"I said I gave her a repellent spell. She went wherever she wanted to get away from here." Diana turned and walked away.

"Wait!" Akko ran after her. "So you don't know much about fairies? Why not?"

"I haven't had the time to study that kind of magic."

"What kind of magic do you know, then?"

"More than I can say." Diana looked her over. "I don't know much about the words you're studying, though. Do you..." Diana paused. She didn't expect herself to be interested. Her throat filled with an uncomfortable dryness as she considered her words, dreading the dive. "Can you tell me a little bit about them?"

Akko's eyes lit up. "Oh, really? Come with me, then!" Akko grabbed her hand, and she dragged Diana out of the room down the hall.

"Right now? I didn't mean right now," Diana said.

"You see, I need help with my homework, actually," Akko said as she opened the door to her room. Her desk was cluttered with scribbled out pages and a couple of textbooks piled on top of each other.

"...Of course."

By the time Diana realized Akko had no intention of helping her, she was already sitting in a chair beside her, reading pages of magic work.

Akko held out a worksheet. "I have no idea what I'm supposed to write here."

"You don't know how to write incantations?" Diana traced her finger over the instructions preceding a few blank lines for writing in.

"I know them, I just don't know how to put them together. Like look, see here. What am I supposed to do here?" Akko pointed at the question asking for a spell that could turn a rock into a diamond.

"This is asking for an object transformation spell combined with a time traveling spell."

"How do you know that?"

"I'm using what I know. Unless you know other spell chains or combinations that can do the same thing, that's what I would write."

"You...other... What?"

Diana handed the worksheet back and crossed her arms, leaning back in her seat. "You have no idea what I'm talking about, do you?"

"No... Turning rock into diamond? I don't even know how to combine spells or whatever you're talking about."

"I think the problem is that you still think of magic as a distant incomprehensible fantasy," Diana said. "You have to stop thinking like that. It'll only hold you back. Magic isn't something that can bring all of your dreams to life."

"But magic's supposed to be fun. It should bring happiness to people."

Diana gave a long sigh. "Akko... Not this again."

"But it's what magic's supposed to be, right? What else do you call it? What do you call the ability to grant wishes?"

"Dreams or fantasy, Akko." Diana stood and reached over Akko for a book, and she opened it to the index until she found what she wanted. "You should start learning how to combine spells. How well do you know chemistry?"

Akko raised an eyebrow. "I'm terrible at it."

"That's too bad, because it would've provided a great analogy. Combining atoms, writing equations, drawing organic reactions, that's a lot like what magic is really like." Diana sighed, daunted at the prospect of teaching Akko the fundamentals. Not just the foundations behind the technical principles, but the ideas and themes behind them -- Akko needed to know that magic was as systematic as chemistry or any other subject.

"That's nothing like what magic's really like," Akko complained.

"Aside from animal transformation, what other spells have you mastered?" Diana asked.

Akko's mouth tightened into a pout.

"So nothing else, then."

"No," Akko said, muffled from her lips pressed together.

Diana glanced at the floor for a moment, considering what would be easy magic that could also be entertaining enough for Akko to pay attention.

"What do you know about water magic?" Diana asked.

"You mean like that time you brought a water horse to the Samhain festival?"

"That was a summoning spell, not water magic. And it was a unicorn." Diana held her hand out. "Many elements have their own healing properties, but water has some of the most restorative effects out of all the magical elements. There are rumors that water magic can create the fountain of youth."

"Is it true?"

"I don't think so. It hasn't been proven." Diana glanced at the Shiny Rod at Akko's waist. "If you can awaken all the words of Arcturus, though, then I'd be more inclined to believe the fountain's magic can be discovered, too."

"Maybe Sucy would know something about it? She loves potions."

"She loves mushrooms."

"So both," Akko said.

Diana's eyes narrowed. "Don't try to make it."

"I wasn't even thinking about making it!" Akko sat forward. "So are we going to do homework or not?"

"Yes, we will." Diana flipped through Akko's textbook. "That means you're going to have work, though."

Akko groaned.

 

* * *

 

The next time Diana came to Akko's room, she found herself assaulted by a strong sweet smell down the hallway. Akko stepped out of the room.

"Diana?" Akko stopped and let the door slam shut behind her.

Diana stared at Akko, her nose wrinkling. "What's that smell?"

"What smell?"

"Your room. There's a scent so sweet it's overpowering."

"Maybe it's this!" Akko presented a ceramic cup in her hands. "I told Sucy about the youth water, and sure enough, she knew what it was!"

"Akko, you didn't..."

"No, she said she can't make it."

Diana let out a sigh of relief.

"It's something called ambrosia? The food or nectar of the gods or something?"

Diana held her hands out to ask for it. "Let me see." She wafted the air above the cup with her hand to sniff, and then backed away from it, her nose wrinkling again. "This smells almost like pure sugar, Akko."

"Is it?"

"This is more like ordinary nectar than anything else, aside from the fact that it's homemade."

"Nectar?"

"Food that bees and hummingbirds eat."

Akko gave a grin. "Like those love bees!"

"Are you talking about the time you crashed Andrew's party? Because those were specifically cupid bees."

"Who cares about the name!"

"Well, it means it's not ambrosia." Diana sighed. "If you give it to me, I can feed it to the wildlife outside."

Akko clutched the cup to her chest and slightly turned away. "No. It's mine. We didn't even make that much to begin with. There's barely any."

"Why?"

"I don't know! The recipe just didn't make much."

Diana raised an eyebrow. "The recipe," she repeated.

"From one of Sucy's books."

"I really don't think you should be trusting something like that."

"Well, I already tried some, and it was good! It made me feel powerful." Akko carefully rearranged the cup in one hand and used the other hand to take out her wand. She cast a spell with effortless speed, summoning a ball of light with a quick utterance of words.

Diana's face fell into surprise. "You usually have trouble with that spell."

"See, it works!"

"I still don't think it's ambrosia."

"How're you going to prove it's not, then?" Akko raised the cup above her head. "You can't have it."

"Akko, let me just examine it--"

"No!"

Diana reached for her wand. Seeing the movement, Akko tipped the cup over and poured it onto her hand. The only content that spilled out was a drop of golden liquid, and it flashed under the light.

Akko's face melted into a grin. "What're you going to do? Lick it?" She gasped. "You should lick it. I bet you won't!" Akko lowered her hand and tilted it to display the golden droplet.

Diana held her wand, wavering as she debated casting a spell on Akko's hand, but she decided against it and put her wand away.

Diana leaned forward. She hesitated with a grimace. After a decisive moment, she closed her eyes and bowed to lick it. Akko pulled her hand back, eyes wide.

"Were you actually _going_ to do it?"

"No," Diana stammered.

"You were! Anyway, it's mine!" Akko licked the drop off her hand.

Diana took a step back. "Do you know what happens if you drink too much?"

"No, I'm not sure. But there was barely any!" Akko grumbled and opened the door back to her room. "Are you here to help me with homework?"

"Yes." Diana walked in after her.

"I changed my mind. No. I'm bored, I'm not going to do any homework."

As Akko started complaining, Diana stared at Akko's hands. They were soft-looking, even though Diana had never taken the time to look at other people's hands before and had nothing to compare them to. The more Diana stared at them, the more she felt herself grow hot, imagining the specific touch of her lips on Akko's hand.

The sound of Akko slamming a book on the floor startled Diana.

"See, look, it's too _heavy_. Do you have any spell to make books lighter or something so I can carry them?"

Diana's eyes refocused on Akko. "Are you procrastinating, Akko? You don't have to worry about carrying books until class tomorrow."

"Just help me." Akko kicked the book.

Diana glanced at Akko's hands. "Alright." She went through her mind to recall the spell, and even though Akko's magic was temporarily potent, they spent hours trying to convince her magic to do the right spell.

**Author's Note:**

> (General A/N): Not looking for concrit; don't leave any.


End file.
